Hardware - Lighting (13:46)
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Hardware - Lighting (13:46)

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The shortest path to great video? Lighting. Forget the silly little ring lights, a well lit webcam video will smoke a poorly list DSLR video! Where to start? I'll show you how to do it on the cheap, and make the most of what you already have.

Hardware Mentioned

Software Mentioned

No software in this one.

FAQs

I've got a lot of natural light. Do I even need lighting hardware? The main upside to still buying lights is you can take control of the light, rather than be subject to whatever's happening outside. For quite a while I only used natural light, but getting into fall & winter it drove me nuts when the sun went down late afternoon.

I've already got a lamp on my desk. Could I use that? Yes! Depending on how powerful the bulb is, it's a good place to start. Pay attention to the kelvin rating of the bulb to ensure the light isn't too blue, or too yellow.

I feel ridiculous shopping for lights. That's completely natural. If you, like me, wanted a more macho option consider using a lamp on your desk, and square LEDs instead of ring lights.

Why did you link to a ring light if you think they're useless? In certain situations, for example, if you're going to be very close to the light, they're still better than nothing. If you're in a room with a lot of natural light or more than 18" from your camera, they probably won't make a difference.

How do I get lights to stop reflecting in my glasses? A few tips:

  1. Move that light as far off-center as possible. Sometimes this isn't feasible.
  2. The larger the light source, the better. This is a reason I don't like ring lights, it's a very focused light source.
  3. Find a way to diffuse the light. This can be as simple as taping a translucent sheet over your light or bouncing it off a white wall or foam board. Amazon search for 'light diffuser'.